Forgot Restrictions Passcode on iPhone or iPad: How to Recover and Reset

To ensure no one can use some of the important features like in-app purchase, Location Services on my iPhone, I prefer to use “Restrictions” aka “Parental Controls.” To keep the Restrictions passcode secure, I hid it in a secret file. A couple of days back, I lost that file along with the passcode. As I had disallowed the access to many apps like Camera, Safari as well as important features, I badly wanted the passcode back. Thanks to a highly functional software “Pinfinder,” I could recover my forgotten Restrictions passcode on my iOS device with ease.

At first, I thought I would have to go through the lengthy steps to restore my device as new to reset the Restrictions passcode. But I didn’t want to lose all of my existing data. With just a bit of digging, I stumbled upon this very simple but effective software that fully rescued me. Literally. The best thing about it is that it hardly takes 2-3 steps to find your forgotten Restrictions passcode. The only downside of it is that it doesn’t work on Mac. There is another software called iBackupBot (supports both Mac and Windows PC) that lets you retrieve the Parental Controls passcode.

Step #3. Once it’s been downloaded, double click on the software icon to run the program on your computer running Windows XP or Vista.

On your computer running Windows 7,8 or 10, you need to right click on the start button and select command prompt. Then, you will have to drag the pinfinder icon from the desktop to the command prompt window. Then press return to run it.

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Now, check out your Restrictions passcode. It will also show the date when it was last reset.

Pinfinder for Mac?

I tested the Mac version of Pinfinder on my MacBook Pro running macOS High Sierra. Unfortunately, it didn’t work for me—unlike its Windows counterpart. But, not to worry as iBackupBot is there to rescue. Let’s check it out.

How to Recover Restrictions Passcode of iPhone or iPad Using Mac

Requirements: Mac, iTunes, and iBackupBoot software.

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iBackupBot does allow you to recover the Parental Controls passcode. But the process is complex and hence requires a lot of patience, but at the same time, it worked like a charm for us. So, if you are ready to go through the grind, give it a go.

Step #1. First up, back up your iOS device to iTunes on your computer. Make sure not to encrypt the backup.

Step #2. Once you have downloaded the software, move it to the Applications folder.

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Step #3. Next, launch the program and allow it to load the information of your device. You may have to wait for some time until it has successfully loaded up the data.

Note: If any error message shows up, ignore it.

Step #3. Check out the folder located near the top. Open it and select the “System files” folder → Next, you need to select “HomeDomain” from the list.

Step #4. Then, open Library.

Step #5. Then, Click on “Preferences.”

Up next, you have to search for com.apple.restrictionspasscode.plist by typing “com.apple.re” in the search bar and then hit return button → Locate the file named com.apple.restrictionspasscode.plist and click on it.

Step #7. Next, return to iBackupBot, and then you have to copy the code under RestrictionsPasswordKey and RestrictionsPasswordSalt.

Now, you will have to paste Restrictions password key and Restrictions Password Salt on the respective fields on iOS7hash website. Make sure to leave the beginning passcode at 0000 as well as the last code search at 9999. Now, you have to click on Search for the code. Let it search the code (you may have to wait for some time.)

Once it has found out the code, a window will show up with your four-digit Restrictions passcode.

That’s finally done!

Restore Backup using iTunes

What if you don’t want to use any third-party software; is there any way to recover Restrictions passcode?

If you don’t want to use any third party software to retrieve the passcode, restore your device as new via iTunes. Make sure not to restore your device from the backup, which you had taken when using Parental Controls. Use the backup, if it’s available, that you had taken before using this feature.

How to Reset Restriction Passcode on iPhone and iPad

Once you have recovered the iPhone/iPad Restrictions passcode, you can reset the same. To do so;

Step #1. Go to Settings then General.

Step #2. Tap on Restrictions.

Step #3. Tap on Disable Restriction and Enter the Passcode that we have just recovered.

Step #4. Tap on Enable Restrictions.

Step #5. Enter your new Restriction Passcode and confirm the same by entering it again.

Your turn

Have you tried this software? Let us know your feedback in the comments below.

Jignesh Padhiyar is the co-founder of iGeeksBlog.com who has a keen eye for news, rumors and all the unusual stuff that happens around Apple products. During his tight schedule, Jignesh finds some moments of respite to share side-splitting contents on social media.